On The Thirteenth Floor
by crimewaves
Summary: Audrey and Beth have just moved to the Faircourt Estate, where not all is as it seems... A closer look at the Faircourt Towers from Dark Days. And not a oneshot.


Disclaimer- I am not male, nor am I human. Therefore I am not Derek Landy. Ergo, I do not own the Skulduggery Pleasant series.

SUMMARY- The idea of this is to explore the 'Faircourt Estate' introduced in Dark Days. There is a deal there with a gang of vampires (led by Moloch) who protect the estate from dangerous individuals in exchange for sustenance (a.k.a human blood). It's a mutually beneficial system, but I imagine life there would be quite miserable. So, I've sent in Audrey (19) and Beth (7), two OCs, to be a means of exploring the estate and hopefully writing something entertaining. But I'll warn you now, I'm aiming for this to be a grim read, and that's why it's going under horror.

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**On The Thirteenth Floor**

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**Chapter 1-**_ The Grey Walled Land_

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It was miserable circumstances that led a person to wander through the Faircourt Estate, sizing up empty looking rooms and enquiring about their state- abandoned or not. It was even worse if you were to be relocated to such an estate- Faircourt was not a nice place. It was grimy and dirt smeared and always smelled like alkies and cat piss, and no amount of cheerful decoration in your flat could suppress the dreary grey that seeped through your window panes like some kind of irrepressible fog.

That was the word that immediately summed up Faircourt Towers- grey. Grey as guns and metal and bullets, grey like concrete and bad weather, grey like depression and a corpse's skin. Yes, grey fit very well indeed. Well enough that it would suffice to summarize the estate, though by no means could it ever fully describe it. After all, is there a single word that could describe a setting? That would breathe life into the imagination, and light into your mind the picture of addicts running through dark tunnels, swirling shadows, empty needles half buried in gutters, pale, nervous faces that had forgotten how to smile?

No, there is no one word that can describe Faircourt Towers. However there are two.

Rock. Bottom.

.

Audrey had been too young to look after a little girl. That was what all the old ladies on her old street had tittered when she had walked past with her head held high in the air, above all of the gossip. What mattered was that the social workers didn't think she wasn't mature enough to take care of her little sister. Usually, she was sure there would be laws against 19 year olds looking after 7 year old girls, but who else did Beth have? Mummy and Daddy were incapacitated from their role as parents, and Audrey was willing to fill those long empty boots.

It helped that in the darker, unkempt corners of every city there would always be corruption. Social services in the more run down areas of town didn't have a good reputation for a reason, and Audrey never supposed she'd be glad of it. The legal papers had been stamped without any hassle at all, the fidgety older workers happy that at least she seemed responsible, because they really didn't have any other option for the little girl. They could either send her to the care homes (over flowing) or try to get her fostered (rare, lengthy). Presented with those, they were all too glad to see the sisters walk down the edge of the street hand in hand, never to see them again.

Now Audrey had legal custody of Beth, all she needed was a happy home life to provide her with. That was where her luck ran out. The old, orange brick house on the estate of well off elderly people and trendy, childless middle aged couples had a high rent, and Audrey simply had too much to do. She couldn't pay all that rent. Two months later, she got her letter of final warning. Three months later, the house was ghostly and empty, and she and Beth were walking slowly down the street, clutching their suitcases and peering out at the main road as they looked for their taxi through the twilight shadows and flashing headlights.

The taxi had trundled slowly through the Dublin night, reluctant to even approach their new council home on the beaten council estate. Faircourt Towers had not a good reputation, and Audrey could read that much in the taxi drivers frown and the scrawl of wrinkles on his face. They pulled up down the road from the tower block, and had to run to the front door, wary of muggers. Audrey treated it like a game, but she knew Beth was as scared as she was curious, and that made her feel terrible. Then they were up the steps, pressing the buzzer for the new land lord.

He was a man named Moloch, apparently, and he wasn't available right now. The thin, greasy man had sniffed, and asked them their names and business, as well as for the final bit of their deposit. Then he had given them keys and directions and a sickly smile, with his well wishes ("Have a good night.") Audrey had to squash the impulse to swear or hit him, before looking at Beth with concern. She was blinking and yawning, her hair messy and fraying as it slid out of the bobble. After a moment of consideration, Audrey scooped her up and carried her plus all four suitcases up the stairs (the lift didn't work) to the seventh floor. Then she opened the door to the new flat, and felt glad she had arranged to have the furniture delivered two days beforehand.

Beth had had her face washed forcibly, before being tucked into the big double bed that was at least in the right place, and told good night. Audrey, however, wasn't planning on sleeping. It was eight forty, which was early in her books. She leaned against the counter in the kitchen, drinking coffee and scanning the room as it was bathed in an artificial yellow glow. The streets outside were very dark, and Audrey had looked at them frowned, and thought that it might not be safe here at night. Then she remembered that this was Faircourt, and that sort of thing went without saying.

The flat was at least habitable, and she had been pleased to find that there was no damp on the walls or floors, just very bad decoration. Admittedly, the flat was small, with one medium sized bedroom and a smaller, dingier one, with a little window. The bathroom fittings seemed newish, and the kitchen... it would do. It wouldn't look very nice as it did, but it would.

She had her work cut out for her.

.

She was startled at 10 past 10 by the sounds of a scream, faint but piercing. Her eyes had flicked upwards immediately, trying to track the noise, but it couldn't have come from upstairs, could it? That was weird, possible, but weird, and it was her first day. She re-thought it, tried to recall it, and suddenly her memory of it become vague, slipped away. She knew there was a scream, but she had no idea where it came from, at least, not anymore.

That's when she gritted her teeth and decided she could at least try to rearrange some of the furniture, though whether she did it for the satisfaction it would give her or the distraction, she didn't know. She didn't stop until eleven, crawling into bed with Beth with burning legs and aching arms, convincing herself that the screams from upstairs were just her imagination.

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A/N so there we have it. The first chapter. It's short, but it's introductory, really- a taster, if you will. I literally have no plot (I never do) but I do have plenty of ideas, and if I'm honest, I wrote this in about 25 minutes. I do intend to explore the magic side of it, probably with Audrey, and no, she's not a mage. She's mortal, like us (well, minus me. Penguin, you know...) and I think I'm going to make her grumpy.

You're feedback would be much appreciated.


End file.
